Hereditary breast cancer,☆☆,

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Historical perspective

Discoveries over the past quarter century have brought us to a new frontier in cancer research, founded on the identification and understanding of basic cellular processes that become disrupted during cancer development. Historically, many empiric models have received temporary favor in our efforts to address the problem of cancer cause, including those founded on the action of somatic chromosomal abnormalities, viruses, environmental agents, chemical carcinogens, and familial predisposition.

Hereditary manifestations of breast cancer

A family history of breast cancer confers the greatest risk of all known epidemiologic factors, other than age, for the development of the disease.42 Since the first demonstration of evidence for dominant genetic susceptibility to breast cancer,43 more recent genetic epidemiologic-based estimates suggest that approximately 7% of all breast cancer cases are associated with hereditary predisposition conferred by an autosomal dominant genetic determinant of relatively high penetrance.44, 45, 46, 47

Overview

HBC is an uncommon clinical problem. Early segregation analyses suggested that between 4% and 7% of all breast cancers could be attributed to 1 or more dominantly transmitted susceptibility alleles that conferred a high risk of the disease43, 44, 47 and that 0.1% to 0.7% of individuals in the general population carried such predisposing alleles.44, 248 Several of these genes have now been discovered. Mutations in the genes BRCA1 or BRCA2 are the most common causes of HBC. Among 237 families

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  • Cited by (0)

    Jeff Boyd, PhD: Associate Attending Biologist, Departments of Surgery and Human Genetics, Director, Gynecology and Breast Research Laboratory, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York

    ☆☆

    Patrick I. Borgen, MD: Chief Breast Surgeon, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Associate Professor of Surgery, Cornell University Medical College, New York, New York

    Hiram S. Cody III, MD: Associate Attending Surgeon, Breast Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery, Cornell University Medical College, New York, New York

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